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More than just wool


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of the amount of yarn needed for each project, are on display with a variety of free in-house designed patterns to choose from. If you want to create your project your- self, group classes are held year- round and one-on-one instruction is available.


You can join the friendly sit and knit group, Hide and Go Stitch. This is a group of multi-genera- tional knitters who have developed into a community that twist yarn, basking in the sunlight, around the big table at the front of the store. The group meets Thursdays from 4 p.m.to 8 p.m. and Saturday af- ternoons from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. “This is our place. We sit around the table and knit or crochet and talk. Everyone


is friendly and


ready to help out,” says new knit- ter Jodi Knopf. “It’s a great social gathering where we all come to- gether.”


The store is located at 989 Por- tage Avenue but if you can't come in person to visit the store, you can request their 2013 catalogue by calling 204-949-6868 to see what is new in yarn. You can also email www.ramwools.com. Products can be specially ordered and will be delivered upon request. A gift certificate is a nice way to thank a friend, or to entice a young person or a hesitating beginner. The staff


is friendly and help-


ful. Lori, Jason, Carol, Zeke and Johanna (who's currently knitting baby things) are happy to help, ex- plain, encourage, and understand your knitting and crochet needs. As Jodi says, “I found so much more than wool, the day I dropped into the store.” And she wasn’t talking about her new scarf.


You will move without moving if you install a bay window in your living room. All will change! Mr. Tomato I


tell everyone that no window de- serves to make that much difference in one’s life. But it has. I am talking about having my deteriorating wood- framed living room windows ripped out and replaced with a bay window. I wrestled with having the project


done. Obviously it’s a pricier proposition and can cost thousands of dollars more than a flat picture window. But the end result is so dramatic that its value can’t be measured in money.


Rolling back the curtains in the morn- ing inspires a kind of rejuvenation that goes with grinding coffee beans to make the perfect cup of coffee. Both start my day right.


The chill is gone Let me tell you why a bay window is


such a big deal. Number one and most important, it frees you from that boxed- in feeling. You want to stretch your arms


out as if you were in the middle of a wheat field with an endless horizon. It’s exhilarating.


A second important element: it blurs the distinction between outdoors and in- doors, an important factor to those gar- deners who are looking for ways to bring the outdoors in. I happen to have a very large spruce tree in my front yard with – in winter – a couple of snow-encrusted branches close to the window. So this past year I could get up close and person- al with winter without feeling its chill. It also lets you move without moving. You’ve heard the phrase, “a change is as good as a rest.” Well, a bay offers you a change so compelling that you get to feel like you’ve moved into a new house without the hassle of packing and un- packing. Then there are the obvious benefits: so much more light is introduced into your living space; the bottom of the window structure offers a great place for plants or


sitting; and you can open the side win- dows for a fresh-air experience. A bay window can also enhance the


value of your home and it adds a charm- ing appeal to the outside of the house. A home with a bay window seem friendlier for some reason. I think it’s because the home seems to be extending a part of it- self outward to welcome you in. So if I’ve piqued your interest, who


do you call to find out if a bay window fits your life? Well, the really important thing – as you know from watching Mike Holmes on TV – is to find a highly qualified renovator. From where I sit first thing in the morning (next to the bay window, coffee in hand) the company I hired, Oswald Construction, met the bill and, more, produced a work of art. Visitors gush about it, too, because


they can’t believe it could make that much difference.


Mr. Tomato is the pseudonym of a Win- nipeg garden writer and broadcaster.


What a difference a bay makes!


The box is gone! You want to stretch out your arms as if you were in the middle of a wheat field with an endless horizon.


4 www.lifestyles55.net


MAY 2013


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